The Embroidered Frame

The last time we saw The Gold and Silk Butterfly for SilkLover, it looked liked this :



Then I replaced the Electyra Beetlewing head with more raised chain stitch in the same purple as the body. I felt the beetle wing just didn’t work texture-wise.



I was talking about placing a net over the body in my last post. But, as a re-start of embroidery after a long break from embroidery, I thought I’d work on the embroidered frame first, as something simpler and more “Zen” to do.

The First Component of the Frame :

http://sarahwhittle.blogspot.com/2010/08/buttonholed-herringbone-stitch.html

“Ok, to work Buttonholed Herringbone Stitch, first work a row of Herringbone Stitches. Next using a blunt needle throughout, bring your needle up at 1 and work a buttonhole stitch over the first thread as shown below. Continue working stitches over this first arm of the herringbone stitch making sure to pack stitches close together as shown. When you get to the top of the intersection work a buttonhole stitch over the crossed end and then continue down the other side of the herringbone stitch. Repeat till all of your herringbone stitches are covered with buttonhole stitches. Its really simple but so effective!”

Here’s my first line of Buttonholing over Herringbone stitch, in a purple a couple of shades darker than the body, along the bottom :



I discovered the hard way that the ‘scallops’ needed anchoring to the ground every centimetre or so. I went back and put tiny anchoring stitches in.

The next line (up the left hand side) looks much better, as I anchored as I went :



I could have buttonholed over the top intersection of the herringbone stitch, as I did to form the curved scallop on the bottom. However, I thought leaving the little crosses uncovered echoed the anntenae of the butterfly.

I’ve still got the right hand side to do.

Second Component :

I’ve got a thick gold thread which I’m going to couch along the top.
I couldn’t buttonhole/herringbone along the top. I’m right up against the EverTite frame there.



Third component :

I’ll couch the same thread used to outline the butterfly itself (another gold thread of mysterious type and origin), just touching the outer edges of the ‘scallops’



Fourth Component :
Rather magically, I found that I had a bag of seed beads that complemented the colours of the piece really well.



I’m going to fill in the 4 corners of the piece with beads :

Here in the top two corners, to fit between the angle of the couched threads and the downward curve of the top scallop :



and here in the bottom two corners :



Each corner will be squared off by the couched thread, not rounded as shown in the photo. It’s kinda hard to hold the thread square holding a camera and having only two hands….

Doing this slightly ornate thread, I think putting a net over the butterfly’s body might be a bit much. I’m thinking of simply couching his/her outline in gold thread, and adding a bead eye.